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Home > Statistics & Research > Child Welfare Outcomes 2001 > Chapter Four > New Jersey

 

New Jersey

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

New Jersey [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population 1998 1999 2000 2001
Total children under 18 years 1,990,439 2,003,204 2,087,558 2,108,533
Race/ethnicity (%)1
   Alaska Native/American Indian 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2
   Asian N/A N/A N/A 6.1
   Asian/Pacific Islander 6.0 6.3 5.9 N/A
   Black 15.9 15.9 15.6 15.9
   Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander N/A N/A N/A 0.0
   Hispanic 15.5 15.8 16.2 16.8
   White 62.4 61.8 59.4 59.3
   Two or more races N/A N/A 2.3 1.8
   Other N/A N/A 0.3 N/A
% Child population in poverty 15.0 10.1 10.9 9.6
% Child population living in metropolitan areas 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Child Welfare 1998 1999 2000 2001
Child maltreatment victims 9,851 9,222 8,727 8,514
Children in foster care on 9/30 9,182 9,494 9,794 10,666
Children adopted 814 732 832 1,028

1 The 2000 Census of the United States includes two new race categories: (1) Persons of two or more races and (2) Other. Back

B. Child Maltreatment Data (NCANDS)

blank cell Number Rate
Maltreatment Information Overview 1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment 75,988 74,585 69,305 70,733 38.2 per 1,000 37.2 per 1,000 33.2 per 1,000 33.8 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2 9,851 9,222 8,727 8,514 4.9 per 1,000 4.6 per 1,000 4.2 per 1,000 4.1 per 1,000
Child fatalities 29 29 25 24 1.5 per 100,000 1.4 per 100,000 1.2 per 100,000 1.2 per 100,000
Age of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 2.5 2.4 15.6 15.2
1-5 years 30.1 30.6 26.6 26.2
6-10 years 33.8 33.1 29.6 29.7
11-15 years 23.1 24.2 22.4 23.4
16+ years 7.6 7.3 5.5 5.5
Unknown 2.9 2.5 0.3 0.0
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 9,851 9,222 8,727 8,514
Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.9
Black 49.6 47.2 44.1 45.4
Hispanic 13.7 15.3 5.5 5.6
White 33.5 33.6 36.0 33.3
Two or more races — — — —
Other/Unknown 15.9 18.2 13.3 14.7
Total %3 113.7 115.3 100.0 100.0
Number 9,851 9,222 8,727 8,514
Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Emotional 2.9 2.8 3.3 2.8
Medical neglect 3.4 3.2 14.4 14.1
Neglect 63.2 62.7 52.8 52.4
Physical abuse 22.5 23.3 24.9 25.3
Sexual abuse 8.0 8.0 8.7 8.8
Other — — — —
Unknown — — 0.1 0.2
Total %4 100.0 100.0 104.1 103.5
Number 9,851 9,222 8,727 8,514

2 Children with more than one report of substantiated or indicated maltreatment may be counted more than once. Back
3 Percentages may total more than 100 percent because Hispanics may be counted both by Hispanic ethnicity and by race. Back
4 Percentages may total more than 100 percent because children could have been victims of more than one type of maltreatment. Back

C. Children in Foster Care
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

Number of Children In Care on 10/1 Entered Care Exited Care In Care on 9/30 Total Served
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98) 8,672 4,747 4,246 9,182 13,419
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 8,894 4,768 4,178 9,494 13,662
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 9,241 4,654 4,109 9,794 13,895
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 9,835 5,433 4,607 10,666 15,268
Median Length of Stay (Months)          
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98) 20.1 N/A 11.7 19.8 N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 20.0 N/A 11.7 20.3 N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 20.5 N/A 12.6 20.8 N/A
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 20.5 N/A 13.1 19.2 N/A
Age of Children in Foster Care (%) In Care on 10/1/97 In Care on 10/1/98 In Care on 10/1/99 In Care on 10/1/00 Entered Care During FY 1998 Entered Care During FY 1999 Entered Care During FY 2000 Entered Care During FY 2001 Exited Care During FY 1998 Exited Care During FY 1999 Exited Care During FY 2000 Exited Care During FY 2001 In Care on 9/30/98 In Care on 9/30/99 In Care on 9/30/00 In Care on 9/30/01
Under 1 year 7.6 7.5 6.7 6.4 21.4 20.2 20.9 21.8 6.3 6.7 6.0 6.3 7.5 6.5 6.3 7.4
1-5 years 32.1 32.1 31.2 31.2 21.2 20.9 21.0 21.0 26.2 27.3 26.0 27.3 32.2 31.4 31.3 30.0
6-10 years 23.2 23.3 24.5 24.6 16.4 18.3 17.6 19.1 18.1 17.8 18.1 20.4 22.9 24.0 24.1 23.8
11-15 years 23.2 23.8 24.0 25.1 28.2 27.8 27.6 26.5 23.0 22.7 22.7 21.9 24.1 24.4 25.3 25.6
16-18 years 13.2 12.7 12.9 12.1 12.6 12.7 12.7 11.4 24.2 23.0 24.2 21.9 12.9 13.1 12.6 12.6
19+ years 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 2.0 2.1 2.6 2.0 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.6
Unknown 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 — 0.0 — 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 8,672 8,894 9,241 9,835 4,747 4,768 4,654 5,433 4,246 4,178 4,109 4,607 9,182 9,494 9,794 10,666
Race/Ethnicity of Children in Foster Care (%)5 In Care on 10/1/97 In Care on 10/1/98 In Care on 10/1/99 In Care on 10/1/00 Entered Care During FY 1998 Entered Care During FY 1999 Entered Care During FY 2000 Entered Care During FY 2001 Exited Care During FY 1998 Exited Care During FY 1999 Exited Care During FY 2000 Exited Care During FY 2001 In Care on 9/30/98 In Care on 9/30/99 In Care on 9/30/00 In Care on 9/30/01
Alaska Native/American Indian 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3
Asian — — 0.2 0.1 — — 0.2 0.4 — — 0.4 0.2 — — 0.1 0.3
Asian/Pacific 0.2 0.2 — — 0.4 0.2 — — 0.5 0.3 — — 0.2 0.2 — —
Black 65.3 64.9 63.2 63.1 55.8 55.6 53.3 54.4 57.5 56.7 53.2 55.0 64.1 63.8 62.7 62.2
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — 0.0 — — — 0.0 — — — — — — — 0.0
Hispanic 10.1 9.3 8.3 7.6 8.5 7.8 7.6 6.2 9.8 9.5 9.0 7.7 9.4 8.4 7.6 6.8
White 21.5 21.6 22.4 22.2 27.7 28.5 28.0 28.1 27.4 26.8 28.5 27.2 22.0 22.8 22.5 23.1
Two or more races — — 1.3 1.5 — 0.0 1.3 1.1 — — 1.5 1.4 — 0.0 1.2 1.4
Unknown 2.5 3.5 4.3 5.0 7.1 7.6 9.1 9.6 4.7 6.2 7.0 8.2 3.9 4.4 5.4 6.0
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 8,672 8,894 9,241 9,835 4,747 4,768 4,654 5,433 4,246 4,178 4,109 4,607 9,182 9,494 9,794 10,666

5 In this and subsequent race/ethnicity tables, data for two or more races may be provided for 1998 and 1999 because of States' resubmissions. However, data for 1998 and 1999 may not capture all children of two or more races and therefore may not be comparable to the 2000 data pertaining to two or more races. Back

D. Children Waiting to Be Adopted
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)6

Overview 9/30/98 9/30/99 9/30/00 9/30/01
Children waiting to be adopted 3,908 4,427 5,032 5,618
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR) 2,900 3,655 4,129 4,905
Age of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 4.6 3.8 3.9 6.1
1-5 years 42.2 41.4 39.9 39.4
6-10 years 28.3 29.8 29.7 28.6
11-15 years 18.3 18.3 20.3 19.9
16+ years 5.8 5.8 5.0 5.2
Unknown 0.7 1.1 1.2 0.9
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 3,908 4,427 5,032 5,618
Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.3
Asian — — 0.2 0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.2 — —
Black 69.9 70.6 68.7 67.9
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — 0.0
Hispanic 8.9 8.0 7.4 6.8
White 18.3 18.0 17.9 18.4
Two or more races — 0.0 1.6 1.9
Unknown 2.4 2.8 3.8 4.5
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 3,908 4,427 5,032 5,618

6 Waiting children are children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parentsÂ’ rights have been terminated. Children 16 years and older with TPR, but with a goal of emancipation, have been excluded from the waiting children and TPR populations. Back

E. Children Adopted
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

Age of Adopted Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 1.5 1.0 0.7 1.0
1-5 years 55.0 58.5 57.6 56.5
6-10 years 32.6 29.5 29.9 30.1
11-15 years 10.4 10.4 10.1 11.6
16+ years 0.5 0.7 1.7 0.9
Unknown — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 814 732 832 1,028
Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.5
Asian — — — 0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander — 0.3 — —
Black 69.4 65.3 65.5 66.1
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic 9.0 9.0 6.7 6.6
White 20.6 22.3 22.2 20.9
Two or more races — 0.3 3.0 2.0
Unknown 0.9 2.5 2.0 3.5
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 814 732 832 1,028

Back to Top

New Jersey [ Outcomes Data ]

1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect
(NCANDS)

1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children without a recurrence 93.4 94.8 94.2 93.6
Children with one or more recurrences 6.6 5.2 5.8 6.4
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 6,633 4,514 4,335 4,347

Bar chart describing Percentage of Children With One or More Recurrences of Maltreatment within 6 months data from Table 1.1 above.

2. Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care
(NCANDS, AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database Jan —Sept)

2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children maltreated while in foster care 1.20 1.02 1.31 0.78
Children not maltreated while in foster care 98.80 98.98 98.69 99.22
Total % 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Number 12,617 12,726 12,997 14,294

Bar chart describing Percentage of Children Maltreated While in Foster Care data from Table 2.1 above.

3. Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 16.0 14.9 16.3 19.6
Guardianship — — — —
Reunification 70.7 73.1 71.3 69.8
Other 13.2 11.9 12.4 10.4
Missing data 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.2
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 4,246 4,178 4,109 4,607

Pie Charts describing data from Table 3.1 above.

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 34.7 31.0 30.9 39.1
Guardianship — — — —
Reunification 50.4 56.5 52.4 50.3
Other 14.9 12.5 16.8 10.5
Missing data — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 845 768 758 867
3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 0.2 — 0.4 0.2
Guardianship — — — —
Reunification 71.7 73.3 73.1 74.2
Other 28.0 26.4 26.6 25.3
Missing data 0.1 0.3 — 0.3
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,426 1,388 1,408 1,394
3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children age 12 or younger at entry 31.1 30.1 30.0 28.0
Children older than 12 at entry 68.9 69.3 70.0 71.6
Missing data — 0.6 — 0.3
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 334 309 307 289
3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)
blank cell Alaska Native/A.I. Asian Asian/Pacific Islander Black Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption — 13.6 10.5 33.3 — — — 14.3 — 7.1 — — 19.1 17.2 19.2 22.3 — — — —
Guardianship — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Reunification 60.0 77.3 84.2 66.7 — — 93.3 71.4 63.2 64.3 — — 68.5 70.4 68.3 67.0 — — — —
Other 40.0 9.1 5.3 — — — 6.7 14.3 36.8 28.6 — — 12.4 12.3 12.5 10.5 — — — —
Missing data — — — — — — — — — — — — 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.3 — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — — —
Number 5 22 19 15 — — 15 7 19 14 — — 2,440 2,371 2,186 2,533 — — — —
blank cell Hispanic White Unable to Determine Two or More Races Missing Data
1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 12.9 12.9 11.4 16.0 13.3 12.8 14.8 16.8 2.0 5.8 4.5 10.5 — — 32.3 36.9 — — — —
Guardianship — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Reunification 68.4 71.4 74.3 73.3 73.4 76.2 72.2 71.1 88.9 87.2 87.1 82.1 — — 59.7 61.5 — — — —
Other 18.7 15.7 14.3 10.7 13.3 10.9 13.0 11.9 9.0 7.0 8.4 7.1 — — 8.1 1.5 — — — —
Missing data — — — — — 0.1 — 0.2 — — — 0.3 — — — — — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — 100.0 100.0 — — — —
Number 418 395 370 356 1,165 1,119 1,170 1,251 199 257 287 380 — — 62 65 — — — —

4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Re-entry
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

4.1 Time to Reunification (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Less than 12 mos. 61.8 61.7 60.3 59.5
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 17.0 18.6 18.9 17.6
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 8.1 8.1 7.4 8.3
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 4.0 3.5 3.6 4.0
48 or more mos. 6.8 6.8 7.7 7.6
Missing data 2.3 1.2 2.1 3.0
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 3,004 3,053 2,929 3,215

Bar chart describing reunification percentages data in Table 4.1 above.

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children entering care for the first time 77.6 77.2 77.1 81.6
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode 11.1 12.7 11.3 7.9
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode 9.6 8.8 9.9 8.4
Missing data 1.8 1.3 1.7 2.1
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 4,747 4,768 4,654 5,433

Bar chart describing re-entries into Foster Care within 12 months from data in Table 4.2 above.

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

5.1 Time to Adoption (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Less than 12 mos. 5.4 3.5 3.3 3.7
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 10.5 11.6 11.0 12.7
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 17.5 19.0 19.0 20.8
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 23.0 24.5 22.1 20.3
48 or more mos. 42.4 39.1 43.0 41.6
Missing data 1.2 2.3 1.6 1.0
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 679 621 670 901

Bar Chart describing Percentage of Adoptions Occurring in Less Than 24 or greater than 48 Months of Entry data from Table 5.1 above

6. Increase Placement Stability
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

6.1 Number of Placements by Time in Care (%) Year Children With 2 or Fewer Placements Children With 3 or More Placements Missing Data Total % Number
Less than 12 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 86.5
86.1
85.6
86.2		 12.4
12.1
12.5
12.1		 1.1
1.8
1.9
1.7		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 5,300
5,403
5,286
5,995
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 67.5
69.7
67.3
68.6		 30.1
28.3
29.6
29.0		 2.5
2.0
3.1
2.4		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 2,628
2,636
2,739
2,975
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 59.5
60.6
59.8
59.3		 38.1
36.6
37.5
36.8		 2.4
2.8
2.7
3.9		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 1,692
1,809
1,759
1,932
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 53.3
53.4
54.6
53.9		 42.5
43.6
42.2
43.9		 4.1
3.0
3.2
2.3		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 1,329
1,213
1,328
1,327
48 or more mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 44.4
42.5
39.6
39.7		 53.7
55.0
58.1
57.7		 1.9
2.5
2.4
2.6		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 2,388
2,538
2,713
2,927
Missing data 1998
1999
2000
2001		 91.5
93.7
97.1
96.4		 —
1.6
—
0.9		 8.5
4.8
2.9
2.7		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 82
63
70
112